Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Upcoming Voyage

Carrying my little pet down the stairs, I arrived outside the inn, where it was already bustling with noise and a steady stream of visitors.

The inn where Miss Vilyric and her merchant caravan stayed was not far from the heart lake of Parut Island, the most prosperous and accessible area of the entire island. Thanks to the inner sea between the islands, merfolk from other islands could swiftly cross the heart lake and reach this place.

The former lord of Parut Island, Sea Priest Silisa, had rebelled during the battle at the Ghost Sea and was slain by Hong Yan and Willipol in a single blow. Alec, who was responsible for the defense, was also recovering from serious injuries. Now, Parut Island had been temporarily taken over by the royal court, and it would be a while before a more suitable new island lord could be chosen.

Of course, Queen Anies hadn’t publicly announced the identity of the traitor; she simply said Silisa had bravely sacrificed herself in battle. The surviving merfolk guards present at the time have also been sworn to secrecy and dealt with accordingly.

This incident involved far too many unknown secrets. To maintain stability and prepare for the upcoming major operation, this handling was the most appropriate.

After all, the actions Queen Anies was about to undertake truly concerned the survival of millions of lives in the Emerald Sea region and were one of the main reasons she wanted to unite with Vilyric and the Lingyin Merchant Association to seek external assistance.

Before long, the merfolk would embark on a large-scale migration, moving more than a third of the population from various island tribes to the outer seas.

Anies had started considering this matter when the Pirate King approached her and Willipol several years ago. Unlike the latter, Queen Anies leaned more toward the stable faction represented by Rashid. With the Ghost War over and the ghost ships destroyed, the interference from another radical force in the Emerald Sea region had finally vanished, allowing for formal action to commence.

The purpose of this was, of course, to prevent the Great Evil God from completely destroying the entire sea region when it fully awakens in the not-so-distant future. With the ghost ships collapsing, a radical choice had disappeared, and as the leader of the sea, Anies was undoubtedly preparing for the worst and leaving a way out for her people.

Originally, they had to wait several months for the Great Whirlpool’s activity to subside, allowing for a temporary opening at the Emerald Sea’s exit before launching the migration. However, not long ago, Xiao Guang’s intense dragon breath destroyed all the evil god’s tentacles within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, even sweeping away the pollution in that area, temporarily restoring it to a normal sea.

This not only opened a passage for Vilyric and the others to the outside world but also provided an unexpected migration shortcut for the local beings in the Emerald Sea region. Although the temporary destruction of the Ghost Sea caused all islands within that range to gradually sink again, making it impossible to investigate the specifics of another East Sea Pearl, that no longer mattered.

Migration is a complex and burdensome task, and since most of the outer seas already have inhabitants, accommodating the sudden surge of tens of millions from the Emerald Sea region wouldn’t be feasible. After much deliberation, Queen Anies ultimately decided on a one-third migration rate.

After learning about the situation through Vilyric’s investigation, Her Majesty the Queen, along with Rashid and Princess Nitira among others who were in the know, gradually realized that the Great Evil God’s motives and means for creating the box garden were not as simple as originally thought. Its awakening might not necessarily lead to the complete destruction of the Emerald Sea region; there might still be a chance for things to turn around—a good piece of news.

However, if things really escalated to the worst-case scenario, the one-third of the clan members that migrated would become the flame of hope, preventing the legacies of many races in the sea from being severed.

Of course, it might take months or even years to complete this migration slowly. Miss Vilyric wouldn’t be involved in this lengthy migration; at most, she would have Ming Lan arrange for the Lingyin Merchant Association to provide some assistance and closely monitor the situation here, informing her of any changes.

Amidst all the chaos and the many severed legacies of races, managing everything as a single person… after all, is limited.

Among the bustling merfolk and merchant caravan members, Vilyric spotted Queen Anies nearby, chatting and laughing with Ming Lan, looking like they were getting along exceptionally well, along with the two princesses of the Bright Merman Tribe. It seemed Miss Le Qiao Qiao had indeed relayed her words well.

The Priestess took Xiao Guang’s hand and walked forward. Naturally, the other party soon noticed their arrival.

“Miss Vilyric has finally come… Is the Little Dragon Princess also here? Greetings, Your Highness.”

Queen Anies was the first to wave and greet them with a smile, but upon seeing the golden-haired little girl beside Vilyric, her expression immediately turned serious, and she slightly bowed in a manner only perceptible to those nearby.

Seeing their mother do this, Nitira and another princess named Valda could only hurriedly mimic her, awkwardly bending slightly to bow.

“Greetings, Little Dragon Princess…”

Naturally, they were addressing Xiao Guang.

Previously, the Little Dragon Daughter had transmitted power through Vilyric, forcefully and dramatically taking that portion of the divine spark from the Ghost Ship. Her feat of piercing through the deep sea with a single strike and her draconic form happened to be witnessed by Anies and the others who arrived just in time.

This event seemed to leave them greatly shocked, with the sudden appearance of the Light Dragon being viewed as a being akin to a deity.

Miss Vilyric certainly couldn’t explain that beforehand, the Ghost Ship had already been disposed of by the Great Evil God in a backstabbing manner, and the little dragon was merely a pet who was lured by delicious food while half asleep, running out to snatch it.

Given the circumstances and the subsequent impacts, to the merfolk, the light dragon stirring the sea was undoubtedly a miraculous being that descended to annihilate their formidable enemy, grant protection, and pave the way forward—a “god.”

At the very least, this kind of “god” was more in line with their imaginations and interests than the Sea Goddess Vail, who only existed in legends, or the gloomy Ghost Ships.

Ordinary beings often anthropomorphize incomprehensible existences in such ways. Perhaps the facts are entirely different from their perceptions, but just one seemingly coincidental appearance and convergence can lead beings in dire straits to view it as a spiritual solace, naming it a god, expressing gratitude, and even worshiping it as a belief.

Queen Anies, although likely too clever and opinionated to believe such things, knew that having a “god” worth believing in under the current circumstances faced by the merfolk was beneficial rather than harmful, so she wouldn’t oppose it.

Of course, they were likely unaware that Xiao Guang was indeed the true form of that Light Dragon. After all, after suddenly bringing back a golden-haired little girl with dragon horns and a tiny tail who was also a wielder of sacred magic, the hints of her power obviously didn’t match her cherubic appearance, inevitable prompting the imagination to run wild.

Even if she wasn’t the true Dragon Princess, she could very well be her offspring or an earthly incarnation acting as an envoy…

The Priestess probably guessed that Anies and her company were thinking along those lines.

   

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